Brassiere



J. P. LAIRD Sept. 30, 1952 BRASSIERE Filed NOV. 22, 1950 I INVENTORIJasepi ZZwz'IfaZ, BY M i 'ATTORNEY p 9 J. P. LAIRD 25 1 BRASSIER-E FiledNov. 22, 1950 2 srms wwrififz INVENTOR Mi'f ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 30,1952 BRASSIERE Joseph Paul Laird, Philadelphia, Pai

Application November 22, 1950, Serial No. 197,072 '3 Claims. (01. 2-42)1 My invention relates to new and useful iniprovements in brassieres,and, more'particularly,

to'a plastic insert that-is to be sewed into atextile brassiere or abathing suit. H

One of the objects of the invention is to provide,

preferably a molded plastic cup that will have the desired resiliency inthat :it may easily'be compressed, so that if worn by a woman.whiledancing, for instance, any pressure on the breast or brassiere willcause the brassiere to flex or compress so that the flexibility wouldappear natural rather than artificial." 1

Still another object of the invention is to provide a molded plasticcupthat will normally keep its molded shape but may easily'be compressedwhen worn or washed and will then return to its original form.

into spherical or conical form becomes more rigid 2 than in sheet formand may offer too much resistance to a normal impact; while if atoo-thin sheet of plastic is used that willnotoifer too great aresistance to impact, ,it'wouldnot have sufficient resiliency to returnto original shape after being compressed I I 7 Therefore, another objectof the invention is to provide a molded plastic insert of-cup-shapedform that is relatively thin and, as it is made of what might be knownas a'fsemi-rigid plastic, with certain reinforcing ribs to behereinafter mentioned, it will be easily compressible but will return toits original molded cup-shaped form.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a molded plastic cupthat-may be washed in lukewarm soapy water without damage, as theplastic will easily stand heat up to 122 Fahrenheit before anytransition becomes noticeableand will return to form, up to atemperatureof'about 219.

Thus, the brassiere may be washed in lukewarm water, or even whatmightbe termed hot' water, without any damage to the same.

sun another object of the invention is to provide a plastic cup forbrassieres, which plastic will be tear resistant, so that it may easilybe sewed within the textile or cloth brassiere; and

may also be sewed in a bathing suit, since it is Still another objecter, t e invention s ts provide a ei orced, moldea iastie'eu vmg c tainreinforced sections, or ribs, whil airib across the top of the cup is aslit so that the cup will be more'compressible than otherwijsewould bethe case, and still the body of the cup, will'be strong enough to,retain its naturallshapejas formed in themoldr I I c Still anotherobject of the invention is to -form a plastic cup that is made from arelatively new plastic known as Polythenefi which is a generic term forthose polymers of ethylenerwhich may 7 V be produced in sheetsandal'soiespecially'in pow- M v,

dered form, so that by molding thesheet the reinforcing ribs may bemolded into the, cup. Also, the slit across the crown of the cupmay bemolded-atthe same time. g As is well known, a plastic sheet when pressedments and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fullyexplained 'jand'pointedout in the claims. I

Referring now to the drawings, showing a'jpreferred form and onemodification,

Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of a'plastic insert for a brassiere, v p rFig. 2 is a sectional vlew'taken on line 2-----2" of Fig. 1, lookinginthe'direction of the arrows, Fig. 3 is a sectional viewftaken on line3-3of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows,

ig. 4 is a front elevation of a slightly modified form of insert, 1 i

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken online 5+5 1 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view on a reduced'scale,

showing two of the inserts in a strapless brassi're, and I Fig. 7 is adetailed section, showing how the insert may be sewed within'thebrassire;

At the outset, it will be .understood that the present ,inventioncontemplates a plastic insert substantially cup shape andjpreferablymade from Polythene, the generic name for those polymers ofethylene-which aresuitable for ape plication as plastics. V H

In the present embodiment, it might be noted that these plastic cups canbe cold drawn in a mold when subjected to 1200 or 1400 5011 pres- 4 sureper square inch. These inserts are preferably molded from the plastic inpowder form, although it is possible to make up these cups of fiatsheets, but this is not as satisfactory as molding the Polythene cupfrom the powder form.

It also might be mentioned at the outset that a cup made from thisPolythene will stand heats up to 122 Fahrenheit before any transitionbecomes noticeable, so that a brassire with these inSBItSiQOlild be:Washed with lukewarm water withouttimy iiamage.-- Also, this:PolytheneWis tear-resistant and will maintain its form up to atemperature of approximately 219"v Fahrenheit;;

and, inasmuch as it is not water absorbent it may be used in a-bathingsuit brassiereyandr since it is chemical resistant, it will -notbeharmedby salt water or soaps. I I I I Referring now to the several-viewsan'ctforthle moment to Fig. 1, there is shown by novel insert forbrassieres, which consists of a disc I '(in plan new oi a-she t of.plasti o s h tantially. L01 te hf i j ,l dtfislb an mhrh i kt es irefe'of'tlie fliolythenef p'la'stios;.as these i e.c t inicharact rist.idsir se" Thegplatic when jmolde'dis ih l id l t isi'd bu 'mietbeptetiii i sem iigid! Ab'o'ut'the'circumference"of .the disc" 'l' is srim! r f an 2. s tha when. .et .e nt "I e,. h tl ifad ,ma be'nas elthmushi .fi e i nf, l 'the i 1 li x e d .fii t l fa ss t i .I" n'd'liHi103is'bifurcated to'form the ad wna ii n n f f'at 'b sidefan "6andTarepreferably'substan allyCOZEltwen- .i s e h nd hs. c a i nch afthckh s' a ine rib'sd 6 andLfarejsubs ntially'one quar- I Iinwidthfwhilethe inainiportion therihtiisslightlyjyider j f j ay be ieei jFies. 22am;,3, his"s et .c insert I is molded toa cup-shape form(inside I elevation) ,so as .to follow the. contours .jof the without.the ribs, ,the. insert will notv be self-sustainin'g; and iff the'iinjrib s netlnrcvieed .with an additionafslot. .asjabdut to be'fm'e'ntioned,

when the insert is" molded it"is likely, to be too I srigid so that ifpressed it would offer unwanted resistance. ,I 1 oy've'ver,--I havefound that byproyiding the. ribs. aspu'tlinedi and making the. insertcup Jshaped, .and-then providinga slot 'Bt'substantial ly coeext'en'sivein length with {the rib .'3,- the disc I may be compressed even by. asli ght touch and then will quickly thereafterI-retiu nto its moldedform.

. Therefore, by, using .a serniri ;id plagstic and re n orc t o a dw upei al -.-int main rib, the insert will be form-sustainingxand evenifdepressed slightly, for instanca'by a partner 'when idancin'gganyslightrigidityzin the:

. so that as a a a be me tionedithe. onl

-difference is thatthere-is more plastic in the hr s andic 0101138,}th$e1.insertswill, I I I I person who wears themare' 'notlarge'enough-to a aving-aims 4 sheet, and the bottom is fiat rather thancir cular.

Furthermore, to make the insert or plastic sheet 9 self-supporting, Iprovide an additional 5 rib M that extends around the two sides H, and

also across the upper portion i2; and this rib M will tend to hold theinsert 9 in its upright position when used with a strapless brassiere,or used n the, 'ruppersportion nf a =-bathing suit.

I-I'erietdfore; difierentfidejices jh'ave ib'een used,

such as wire inserts, but these offer certain obgflections, such aspressure on the breast, etc. that II I isnot to be desired. I have foundthat by using a=reinforcing rib of the molded plastic, I can dispense.with any auxiliary metal reinforcement.

""lt'wi ll' be'noticed that this form of insert 9 has Til th-eicenterr'ib= t5., i-the bifurcated ribs l6 to the .opposite sides; and there isthe central slot l1 ""thatis'" exactly like that used in the preferred20 form.

molded form. I I I '-"-''l?urtherrrrore, t' will lee-seen that theseinserts will always lcep thpoekets oi a textile b'ras siere in its cupshapd iorm; even if the breasts of -the fill the poclg'etsgof thebrassiere. j merr-tier!ed fi-n the earlierfpart of the specifi--'-"catiehf i have mend-this Polythene the-=most -de rabl pia'sticg m aybe' cheaply molded; I I rnay easilybewashed; and willf not-bafieet'ed"by-chemica 1s{ saltwatenetc. "It wil l 'so hefappreeiatedfthat{by molding theseir'isert rite-sheets;'-there areno=rough edges peeialf biridingin-thebrassire; ;and I I the ihaterial issolight in--weight;it does at in a' yiway encu mbr the brassire, I iany'slight chang'es knightbemade without eepartmg rmm me -s'pi-i'it-aridscopeoftheinvention.

described ul y-invention, -what I desire to 1 isecure "fby Letters 3claim i new r insert rer abrassierearid the} like,substantiallycupeishaped inrem; formed from a 55 sheet; er moldedplastic of approx-imatly fifteen bu 'h flair-1 1 im rnesan .h 'bvieW111iv mel ed r roeefb whi ex nd horizontally across the center ofith e'cupshaped m. h 9 211 1 f Wh ex ndi mmiinea 70. quter-p e new war h fintftth zt i k es 'Q jfil de' "b ing" llbfil ellt aillyitwenty- H bein sp dI with aslot extending substant ally.lthroughout 75 the length of therib forlessening the rigidity 5 of the rib but the ribs still being ofsuificient rigidity to cause the insert to returnto its molded shape ifdepressed.

2. An insert to be sewed in the pockets of a textile brassire,consisting of a relatively thin semi-rigid molded plastic sheet, acup-like pocket formed in the sheet, the marginal edges about the outerwalls of the pocket adapted to receive the threads when the insert issewed into the pockets of the brassiere, reinforcing ribs in the insert,one extending horizontally across the pocket, said latter rib beingslotted and the other of said ribs being non-radial, and the slotted ribhaving the slot extending substantially throughout its length and thethickness of the ribs being such as to cause the insert to return to itsoriginal form if depressed.

3. An insert for a brassiere, and the like, formed from a thin sheet ofmolded plastic, said insert substantially cup-shaped in form, andprovided with integral, non-radial, molded ribs extending from near theouter periphery towards the center, their inner ends terminating shortof the center; an additional rib extending completely across the centerand connected'to the inner end of said'aforementioned ribs; saidadditional rib provided with a slot therein, the slot in said ribextending throughout the length thereof, and the slot decreasing therigidity of the insert but the ribs still being of sufiicient rigidityto cause the insert to return to its molded shape if depressed.

Safiady Nov. 29, 1949

